This episode was recorded prior to the sad death of the brilliant Anthony Head on 5 June 2026. Diving deep into all things ’90s . Fangs for the memory! Buffy the Vampire Slayer began life as a teen horror-comedy film that came and went in 1992 with barely any impact. But five years later, creator Joss Whedon brought Buffy back for television, casting Sarah Michelle Gellar in the lead role and somehow transforming the story of a blonde Californian teenager killing vampires into o n e of the defin...
Jun 05, 2026•1 hr 5 min•Season 1Ep. 46
Diving deep into all things ’90s . The music business’s last hurrah of excess, extravagance and super-colossal expense accounts came in the ’90s – and John Niven was in the front row as an A&R man* at era-defining label London Records. His experiences of trying to sign the next big thing in a cloud of money and “stimulants” became the cult book and movie Kill Your Friends (the British American Psycho). What was it all like? John joins Miranda to talk Goldie , lengthy expense accounts, All Sa...
Jun 01, 2026•1 hr 2 min•Season 1Ep. 45
Diving deep into all things ’90s . Paul Verhoeven’s camp, deranged, Vegas-based “erotic drama” Showgirls was a $45 million Hollywood gamble that became one of the biggest box office flops of the decade. Nominated for 16 Razzies, it got its lead actress Elizabeth Berkeley effectively blacklisted for almost 20 years. But thirty years later, things look very different. Once dismissed as pure camp excess, Showgirls has since been critically re-evaluated as a vicious satire of the American dream, cap...
May 25, 2026•1 hr 8 min•Season 1Ep. 44
Diving deep into all things ’90s . John Robins was a child at the start of the ’90s and eighteen by the end of it. He talks through his early obsession with Freddie Mercury and Queen ’s ‘90s releases, his controversial non-uniform day outfits and how his music taste evolved to the likes of Mogwai and Godspeed You! Black Emperor. Plus, he discusses his new book Thirst , which is out now. Buy Thirst through our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund Talk ‘90s to me by earning us a small commissio...
May 18, 2026•1 hr 3 min•Season 1Ep. 43
Diving deep into all things ’90s … Elizabeth Wurtzel’s groundbreaking grunge-era memoir of depression, medication and alienation Prozac Nation divided opinion like few books ever have. How did it become the book of a generation? Does it stand up now? Did Wurtzel reinvent an old genre or start a new one? And would Lena Dunham’s Girls exist without it? Miranda Sawyer is joined by Sian Pattenden , culture writer, artist and musician, to discuss how Prozac Nation changed the game for young women wri...
May 11, 2026•59 min•Season 1Ep. 42
Diving deep into all things ’90s . Bright, sugary and brewed to go down far too easily, alcopops arrived in the ’90s with a bang. They blurred the line between soft drink and spirit, encouraged a new generation into the pubs and if you believed the tabloids sparked a youth drinking revolution. This week on Talk ’90s , Miranda is joined by drinks writer Pete Brown to revisit the sticky-sweet rise of Hooch, Bacardi Breezers and Blue WKDs. We take a look at the moral panic that followed and how the...
May 04, 2026•58 min•Season 1Ep. 41
Diving deep into all things ’90s . It’s 1994, three schoolkids from Downpatrick get permission from their headteacher to go on tour with Elastica… and the rest is history. Ash arrive with the bombastic Girl From Mars and pure teenage nerve, somehow landing a record deal before they’ve finished their exams, then opening their A-level results live on BBC Radio 1! Frontman Tim Wheeler joins Miranda to revisit the madness, their complicated place in Britpop, and the 30th anniversary tour of their de...
Apr 27, 2026•1 hr 14 min•Season 1Ep. 40
Diving deep into all things ’90s . Nothing captures the raw excitement of ’90s clubbing like the speaker-shattering sound of jungle and drum’n’bass – a collision of real time breakbeats and chest-rattling sub-bass that created a culture that still lives on today. And the undisputed don of the scene is Goldie , the Metalheadz mastermind whose unstoppable ambition brings drum’n’bass out of the underground and into the mainstream. Thirty years later and slightly mellowed, Goldie joins Miranda Sawye...
Apr 20, 2026•1 hr 17 min•Season 1Ep. 39
Diving deep into all things ’90s . Stuffed with high-glam, sex-soaked shots featuring the likes of Kylie, Johnny Depp, Madonna, Ewan McGregor and Uma Thurman, Sky Magazine was the glossiest badge of adulthood you could possibly leave on the coffee table. In an age when satellite TV was booming and the remote was king, it catapulted suburban Britain to the heart of Hollywood. Sky Magazine’s editor Simon Mills joins Miranda to revisit the glory days of the mag that turned TV listings into a lifest...
Apr 13, 2026•50 min•Season 1Ep. 38
Diving deep into all things ’90s. “The Judge won’t budge!” DJ Julius O'Riordan AKA Judge Jules was at the centre of the ’90s dance music boom that took the scene from pirate radio and illegal raves to Radio 1, superclubs and Ibiza at its most ’avin it. The law student turned DJ became one of the defining figures of the decade. Miranda sits down with Jules to talk about how dance music changed across the ’90s, what Ibiza was really like before it went mainstream, and the tracks that defined the e...
Apr 06, 2026•1 hr•Season 1Ep. 37
Diving deep into all things ’ 90s . Cigs for breakfast! Oral sex in the kitchen! Wobbly cameras! E binges! Egg! Milly! Miles! Anna! Warren! And “the punch”. It’s 30 years since the groundbreaking houseshare drama This Life exploded onto our screens and gave us a candid look into the lives of young lawyers living together in London. What made this ramshackle saga work? And what made the characters so believable? Miranda talks over the tears, the tantrums and the fridge arguments with entertainmen...
Mar 30, 2026•52 min•Season 1Ep. 36
Diving deep into all things ’90s . What happens when you grow up on the most famous square in Britain? Natalie Cassidy was barely a teenager when she became Sonia Fowler and suddenly the nation was watching her first kisses, first heartbreaks and, yes, her many trumpet solos. In this episode of Talk ’90s To Me , Natalie looks back on life as a child star at the heart of EastEnders at its peak: the pressure, the pace, and the peculiar reality of growing up in public. From her love of Britpop to s...
Mar 23, 2026•54 min•Season 1Ep. 35
Diving deep into all things ’90s . In 1994, a 19-year-old Leonardo DiCaprio received his first Academy Award nomination for What’s Eating Gilbert Grape . It proved he was the real deal and set him on course to become more than just an actor. Within a few short years he’d become the ultimate poster boy, with bedroom walls across the globe filling up with Leo pictures carefully snipped from teen mags. This week on Talk 90s To Me , Miranda is joined by journalist and author of the upcoming newslett...
Mar 16, 2026•1 hr•Season 1Ep. 34
Diving deep into all things ’90s . Jeff Buckley died in 1997 at just 30 years old, leaving behind only a handful of recordings but a huge impression on his fans. In the decades since, the mythology of the singer-songwriter hasn’t really faded. Buckley didn’t leave a long catalogue behind, but what he did leave was enough to make him a legend. This week, Miranda sits down with music Journalist Jude Rogers to talk about Buckley’s legacy, the lasting impact of his only full album Grace , and his ha...
Mar 09, 2026•1 hr 5 min•Season 1Ep. 33
Diving deep into all things ’90s . British comedy got faster, stranger and more gleefully quotable in the ’90s than ever before. At the centre of it all was John Thomson , the everyman who helped turn The Fast Show into a cultural phenomenon, popped up everywhere from I’m Alan Partridge to Men Behaving Badly , and then pivoted to the Sunday night, must-watch dramedy Cold Feet . This week, Miranda sits down with Thomson to discuss the dizzying speed of ’90s fame, the catchphrases he still can’t e...
Mar 02, 2026•1 hr 5 min•Season 1Ep. 32
Diving deep into all things ’90s . 1994, Loaded lands on newsstands and suddenly the tone of British magazines shifts overnight. Louder, cheekier, more irreverent than anything before. At the centre of it all is James Brown , the unlikely magazine wunderkind who rocked the world of ’90s publishing. This week, Miranda Sawyer sits down with James, author of new fanzine Zine Age Kicks to discuss his beginnings, the swaggering influence of the NME-era music press, and how a DIY, fan-first focus shoo...
Feb 23, 2026•1 hr 5 min•Season 1Ep. 31
Diving deep into all things ’90s . Pop was trying very hard to look polished, predictable and a little bit American in the early ’90s… then Björk arrived, barefoot, uncompromising, and sounding like the future of music. She didn’t just release hit records. She blew open the idea of what a pop star could be: experimental but chart-friendly, weird but deeply human. In this episode of Talk ’90s to Me , journalist and author of Bjork’s Hegemonic , Emily Mackay joins Miranda to look back on Björk’s a...
Feb 16, 2026•1 hr 13 min•Season 1Ep. 30
Diving deep into all things ’90s . CK’s iconic black-and-white underwear ads didn’t just sell underwear – they practically defined the style of the ’90s. Slip dresses that looked like you’d forgotten the rest of your outfit, billboards full of brooding half-dressed teenagers, and a minimalist aesthetic all reshaped fashion forever. Sali Hughes , The Guardian ’s beauty columnist and host of the Beyond the Bathroom podcast, joins Miranda Sawyer to look back at the man, the myth and the legend of C...
Feb 09, 2026•53 min•Season 1Ep. 29
Diving deep into all things ’90s . The Disney Renaissance is usually remembered for its big tunes and Broadway bombast, but one of its most long-lasting impacts is the strength of its villains. From a sea witch inspired by the most transgressive drag queen of the ’80s to a Shakespearean lion schemer voiced by Jeremy Irons, these characters defined the era. Louder, stranger and far more interesting than the nice, beige heroes they were supposed to lose to. This week on Talk ’90s To Me , we’re div...
Feb 02, 2026•1 hr 1 min•Season 1Ep. 28
Diving deep into all things ’90s . Brooklyn and Nicola? Pffft. In 1999 David Beckham and Victoria Adams were the two most stratospherically famous people in Britain – and their wedding blew the nation’s collective mind. How did the Posh’n’Becks nuptials change celebrity culture, the media and the minds of everyday people? Diehard Posh’n’Becks fangirl, Guardian columnist and Mirror veteran Polly Hudson joins Miranda to look at the purple outfits, the bespoke thrones, that (ahem) unusual “VD” mono...
Jan 26, 2026•1 hr 2 min•Season 1Ep. 27
Diving deep into all things ’90s . In 1999, Britney Spears exploded into pop superstardom. One song, one video, and suddenly she was everywhere with barely any build-up and no room to breathe. Was Britney’s debut a pop miracle, or the start of a life lived on other people’s terms? This week, Miranda Sawyer is joined by Jennifer Otter Bickerdike, author Being Britney , to look back at culture that made her, adored her, and then watched as the consequences played out in public? • Want an extra min...
Jan 19, 2026•1 hr 4 min•Season 1Ep. 26
Diving deep into all things ’90s . This week, Miranda is joined by comedian and podcast royalty Josh Widdicombe (who loved ’90s TV so much he even wrote a book about it Watching Neighbours Twice a Day.. ) to talk about ’90s TV phenomenon TFI Friday hosted by the one and only Chris Evans. Red hair, loud shirts, laddish chaos, celebrity stunts, flashes of brilliance and moments that make you ask, how did that ever get on TV? Evans wasn’t just a presenter in the ’90s, he was a sensation. TFI Friday...
Jan 12, 2026•1 hr 4 min•Season 1Ep. 25
Diving deep into all things ’90s . Cool. Violent. Funny. Quoted to death. Still feels modern today. This week on Talk 90s To Me , Miranda opens the briefcase on 1994’s Pulp Fiction , the film that didn’t just dominate the cinema, it rewired culture entirely. With non-linear storytelling, electric dance scenes, super cool hitmen and a soundtrack that instantly made you cooler just for owning it. This week, Miranda is joined by broadcaster, podcast pioneer and film buff Jamie East to unpack how Ta...
Jan 05, 2026•1 hr 2 min•Season 1Ep. 24
A special preview of the kind of thing we're doing over on our Patreon to tide you over the new year! Suede, slim and quietly confident, Gazelles could improve almost any outfit. Worn by everyone from indie kids to people who definitely weren’t trying, they went to gigs, clubs, school and back again without fuss. This week on our Patreon pod shot, Miranda is joined by DJ, journalist and man with some of the best shoes in England, Anthony Teasdale , to find out how, 30 years on, Gazelles are stil...
Dec 29, 2025•14 min•Season 2Ep. 6
Diving deep into all things ’90s . Did the Great British Christmas Number One peak in the ’90s? Miranda Sawyer sits down with comedian Marc Burrows , author of Mistletoe and Vinyl: The Story of the Christmas No. 1 , to get our heads around the annual scramble to be top of the Christmas pops. It’s an epic tale featuring Michael Jackson, the Spice Girls, Queen and even Cliff Richard. Plus: we attempt to answer the most important question of all – what is Mr Blobby , and how did his Christmas Numbe...
Dec 22, 2025•1 hr 12 min•Season 1Ep. 23
Diving deep into all things ’90s. Today we unwrap one of the great Christmas gifts: how a lad from Walthamstow wrote the Crimbo anthem of the 90s. Yes, we’re talking about East 17’s Stay Another Day . Miranda sits down with Tony Mortimer to find out how he turned real heartbreak into a perennial festive classic. Plus: the highs and lows of life in a boyband, four legged bandmates, giant puffa jackets, and how the track even beat Mariah Carey to Christmas No. 1 in 1994 — even though it isn’t very...
Dec 15, 2025•51 min•Season 1Ep. 22
Diving deep into all things ’90s. Italia ’90 wasn’t just a World Cup, it was a national mood. The summer when Gazza wept, England stumbled heroically, and football suddenly looked… different. Sleeker. Made for TV. This week on Talk ’90s to Me , Miranda Sawyer is joined by Simon Kuper , author of World Cup Fever , to dive back into the tournament that rejuvenated the sport. They talk about the drama and the daftness: Maradona’s chaos, Cameroon’s rise to cult-hero status, and Miranda’s personal ch...
Dec 08, 2025•48 min•Season 1Ep. 21
Diving deep into all things ’90s. The British high street was everything in the ’90s. A place to roam, reinvent yourself and blow your wages on whatever you fancied. Fashion maven Mary “Queen of Shops” Portas , author of I Shop, Therefore I Am , joins Miranda to revisit a decade when shop floors became catwalks, window displays turned into art, and the real-life fashion of the decade helped inspire the world of Absolutely Fabulous . Mary was right there in the thick of it: transforming Harvey Ni...
Dec 01, 2025•58 min•Season 1Ep. 20
The brand new podcast that dives deep into all things ’90s. Seinfeld was a “show about nothing” that critics didn’t get, audiences didn’t love at first, and yet somehow became one of the biggest comedy phenomena of the decade. From Jerry’s neuroses and Elaine’s sharp tongue to Kramer’s manic energy and George’s miserable existence, we explore how a strange sitcom rewrote the rules of TV. To help make sense of its unlikely rise, Miranda is joined by Seinfeld superfans: writer Phoebe Roy and comed...
Nov 24, 2025•59 min•Season 1Ep. 19
The sudden death of Stone Roses bassist Gary “Mani” Mounfield aged only 63 shocked music fans everywhere and led to an outpouring of love and appreciation from fans and friends including Liam Gallagher, New Order, Elbow, the Courteeners, and many more. In a special tribute edition Miranda talks to music journalist John Robb of Louder Than War about how Mani’s bass put the funk into what would become Britpop… how his personality glued the Stone Roses together… and why Mani never ever gave in to c...
Nov 21, 2025•26 min•Season 1Ep. 18
